A
land of many religions and religious
people, Kutch. Migration of people
in and out led to the birth of many
religions, inscriptions of which
can be found on stones and other
carvings. The inscriptions found
of Andrau and Rudradamn regime give
out the fact that 2 centuries before
Jesus, Buddhism and Jainism had
already spread in Kutch.

And
amongst the two, as time passed
by, Jainism became the prominently
followed and practiced religion.
Even today Jainism is the
principle religion followed
in Kutch.

There
are a number of temples built by
Jain followers in Kutch. The Bhadreshwar
temple, one of the most ancient
temples situated in Bhadrawati,
considered a very holy place is
one such. Bhadrawati was ruled by
King Sidhsen in 449 B.C (according
to the Hindu calendar) who renovated
the place. Later it was ruled by
The Solankies who were Jains, and
they changed the name to Bhadreshwar.
Then in 1315, a great famine struck
Kutch, after which the place was
renovated by Jagadusha.

Near
the village of Jalvana, at
Koday Bohter Jinalaya is Jain
pilgrim's holy place. There
are 72 statues of Jain Gods.
The main God here is Prabhu
Aadeswarji. The divine statue
is 73 inches tall. Not only
Jains but also people of all
religions from all over India
and abroad come and visit
this temple.

Khothara,
Suthri, Jaikha, Tera and Naliya's
ancient Jain temples in the
district of Abadasa are called
"Moti Panchtirthi",
means the big pilgrimage.

Every
year thousands of Jain Pilgrims
come here. Vanki Tirth situated
in the district of Mundra is considered
to be one of the most elegant temples
of the Jains. The main God here
is Vrdhman Swami. The height of
the idol is 51 inches and that of
the temple is 251 feet tall. There
are devotees of all religion visiting
the " Moti Panchtirthi"

Jainism
believes in Atma and Atma has to
achieve its goal by Moksha.

Another
prominent religion is the Hinduism.
Many Gods and Goddesses are worshiped
in this religion. The Hindu is the
most prominent religion as the country
itself is called Hindustan, meaning
The land of Hindus.

Narayan
Sarovar in Kutch is the most
ancient and pious place for
Hindus. It is one of the five
holy ponds in India.

In this place there are temples
of Shri Trikamraiji, Laxminarayan,
Govardhannathji, Dwarkanath, Adinarayan,
Ranchodraiji and Laxmiji. Maharaj
Shri Deshalji's Queen had built
these temples. Devotee from all
over India come to worship the lords
here.